


Better Late Than Never

by Sephypsycologist



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bittybones (Undertale), Gen, pure bite bitty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 23:48:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17110436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephypsycologist/pseuds/Sephypsycologist
Summary: A very lonesome baby-sized bitty finally gets a home.





	1. The Shop

You’d been running late because of a line at the ATM. Your bank only had one in town, and you didn’t want the extra charges when you were already withdrawing 300 dollars.

It was the adoption drive at the pet store, and you’d been wanting to get a bitty for awhile. The bitties at this store were pretty big, like baby sized, so they were expensive, but oh you wanted a little friend to snuggle and who would be happy to sit with you.

But that darn ATM was pretty popular today and you’d been in line for an HOUR.

But now you were at the store and….oh no.

Most of the bitties had been picked over and you felt your heart sink. What if you were too late? What if there was no one who would connect with you now? You already had a hard time connecting with other humans, but you were hoping to see if Bitties were easier.

The little enclosures where the bitties would sit to be adopted were mostly empty, and the crowd still in the store was focused on the puppies and kittens around the edges instead. You sighed and went to the little cubicles to see if anybody was left.

Then you heard the crying.

Looking around, you saw the one cube that was still full. A sad little bitty sat alone, looking at the chocolates that were his bid toward attracting an owner. It almost ripped your heart out to see how hopeless and miserable he looked. It was worse when you saw he was even discounted, 200 dollars instead of three, and that meant he’d been there a long long time.

“H-hey, little buddy,” you walk quickly to his cube, and he snaps his head up, tears running down his cheekbones like turquoise rivers. It was then you noticed the muzzle and felt even worse for him. As a thinking, feeling being, living in a muzzle had to be hard and degrading, even if it was because he was a Pure Bite and thus tended to chomp on anything. “Don’t you usually put sea salt on chocolate instead of tears?”

You smile at him, and he scrambles, putting the chocolate box back together and holding it up to you, despite the sniffles and barely held-in sobs. You take the box and tell him softly as you slip it in your bag, “How about we share these when we get home, sweetheart?”

Even with the muzzle, you can see his smile, so tentative and hopeful as he keeps his little arms in the air.

Picking him up like a toddler, you giggle at how heavy he is despite his size, “Oooh, baby, you’re a big boy, huh? At least I know they fed you here.”

He’s purring and nuzzling your shirt, soaking it with tears even though they’re for happiness now. His boney fingers are dug in, holding tight to your shoulder, and you swear you can feel his little soul warming in his chest. Even though he wasn’t what you’d pictured when you came out today, you knew he was yours and always meant to be yours.

The clerk at the desk seems shocked when you approach with your bitty. “I’m ready to check out, if you please.”

He side eyed your precious boy, and you felt angry at that. “Uh, you…you sure you want HIM? We’ll have more bitties out tomorrow.”

There was a scared whimper from your shoulder and you glared at the clerk, “If I wanted a different bitty, I would have asked. I said I’m ready to check out.”

This made the teenager wince and nod, “Okay, sorry. Uh…that’s 200, and I’m legally obliged to tell you that you have to change the bandage on his head every day and keep the wound clean.”

“I can do that,” you nod curtly, holding your shivering cutie closer, feeling him breathing as his round little tummy pushes into you and relaxes again from his nervous panting.

The clerk gets your money and ticks something off on a sheet, then hands you a receipt, “In case it doesn’t work out, you have 30 days to return him.”

“I won’t need that.” You take the receipt and ball it up, lobbing it into a nearby trashcan. “Good day, sir.”

With that, you turn around on a dime and head outside, whispering to your sobbing companion, “It’s okay, Cocoa. We’re gonna go home and have chocolates. Do you like your name? Cocoa?”

He nods into your shoulder and begins to purr again.

You love Cocoa, and you’re going to make sure he never feels alone again.


	2. Chapter 2

You set Cocoa on the couch when you got in and knelt in front of him, “Is it okay for me to take your muzzle off?”

He whined and shook his head, so you back off, “Okay, if you aren’t comfy with that yet, that’s fine. But, do you want a tour?”

This time he nodded and motioned to be picked up again. You chuckle and do so, grinning as his little bone tail wriggles excitedly, “Okay okay, but only for today. While I love you, I know you can walk on your own.” You kiss his head, careful of his bandage, and he makes a pleased squeak and blushes.

Cocoa gets a tour of your house from the comfort and safety of your arms, and at last you reach your own room, “Here we are. The bedroom.”

He wriggles and you put him down, allowing him to climb up on the bed by himself. Flopping over, he sighs and rolls himself in the covers a bit, looking like a cocoon in no time. You giggle at his antics, “Cute. But your bed is down here, silly bitty.” Pointing to the little bitty pallet you’d bought in anticipation of your new friend, you see his face fall a bit, but he nods and untangles himself.

“This is just so I don’t accidentally roll on you and hurt you, Cocoa, okay?” You kneel down next to his bed and reassure him as he tests it out. “I could never forgive myself if I ever did something that hurt you.”

His eye lights are bright, wide eyed and adoring as he looks at you. You could definitely appreciate that look. “You just tell me when you’re ready and we’ll change your clothes, get you cleaned up, and share those chocolates you got for us. Sound good?”

Reluctantly, he nodded, only holding out one hand. You beam, keeping yourself leaned down so you can hold hands with him, “Good job, big boy. It’ll be okay, I promise.”

–

He seems very nervous about the bath, but you show him that you aren’t going to use the big tub on him. “See?” you show the baby-sized tub inset that you’d bought. “This isn’t deep, it’s just your size, and I got the most gentle kind of soap there is. And!” You set the tub inside the bigger one and turn on a little of both temperature nobs before pulling out a box of large sized colored bandages, “I already had these, so when we change yours, you can be super stylish!”

Cocoa gave a nervous smile behind his muzzle, but his eye lights sparkle at the different color bandages. This is enough incentive for him to take your offer of a towel and strip off under it. You even hear the buckle of his muzzle being undone, and finally hear his gruff little voice, “uh…what…what do i call you?”

You tell him your name and smile as his head peeks out of the towel, “I’m just glad you want to talk to me, Cocoa.”

“who wouldn’t want to talk to you?!” he’s amazed, shuffling over and sitting in your lap. “you’re so good a-and you took a loser like me and defended me an’….an’…” Cocoa nuzzled into your stomach, “i thought nobody was gonna come for me.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” You bundle him up and hug him close. “I’m so sorry you felt so bad. But you don’t have to be alone ever again, okay? I work from home, so I get to stay with you all day.”

“You do?” his mouth hung open a bit, showing those sharp teeth that gave him his type name.

“Mmhm,” you chuckle and turn off the water now that the baby tub is full, “now you need to get clean so we can get you a brand new bandage and into some of the clothes I bought so my new cutie pie could feel comfy.”

He looked at the water and reluctantly nodded, closing his sockets tight as you picked him up and set him in the little tub.

The fact he doesn’t instantly sink seems to confuses Cocoa, and he looks around the tub before smiling up at you, “s’not so bad! they were a lot rougher on me in th’ store. i dun like those deep sinks….”

“That’s understandable, sweetie,” you nod, wetting a wash cloth and beginning to spread the water on him. The dirt comes off slowly, turning his formerly dingy bones a lovely white. “You don’t have to worry about getting too deep with me. I’ll always make sure you don’t sink.”

Cocoa laughs when you help him wash his tummy, and you grin, “Oh, my little man is ticklish. I’ll keep that in mind later.”

He purred softly as you foamed up the soap in your hand, and rubbed it down his back, “mmn, you’re just how i hoped you’d be.” There was a splashing as his tail began wagging again and you squeal with laughter as it splashes you.

Bath time turns out to be very fun, but then you get to his head, “Cocoa?”

“hm?” he looks at you, seeming confused.

“Is it okay for me to clean your head now?” you ask gently. and he looks down at his hands on those adorable thick legs.

“y-yeah. jus’ be careful.” Cocoa curled in on himself a bit, and you frown, but do as he said. Very gently, you use the water to remove the bandage (a dirty brown one that looked several days old). The hole in his skull is sad to look at, but you know it’s just how he was made. Gently, you clean around the area with the edge of the washcloth, making sure not to press too hard on the shards of bone.

When you finish, you dry your hands on the towel he’d undressed under, and get out the bandages, one of each offered color. “Which one would you like, Cocoa?”

He looks around and points, “red please! gotta look tough.”

“Why’s that, sugar?” you ask as you put the others away for now.

“so….oh.” He sighed and leaned back in the tub, “i don’t have to worry about getting adopted anymore. that’s so nice.and my head’s clean!” Cocoa’s eye lights look upward and he gently feels the hole, “they weren’t very good at that back at the shop either.”

“Sounds to me like we got you out just in time, sweetheart.” You offer the towel for him, “Ready to get out so you can pick out your new clothes?”

“heck yeah!” He very carefully stands up and reaches up so you can bundle him up in the towel. Even so, you can feel his little tail wiggling happily as he purrs.

You hug him close to you and sit in the floor of your room, right beside the dresser. The bottom drawer has lots of cute outfits for bitties just his size, and you watch as your little guy keeps his towel wrapped around him like a cloak as he picks through it.

Cocoa pulls out a thick brown sweater, rubs it between his fingers for a moment, then drops his towel and pulls it on quickly. You giggle and remind him, “You do need pants, too, sweetheart.”

“do i have ta?” He pouted, but when you nod he sighs. “awww, fine. but don’t blame me if i get sore from it.” Cocoa muttered and growled a little to himself as he searched, but he found some grey sweat pants that seemed to suit him. He wiggled into them, then grinned, “better?”

“Much,” you agree, then admire his ‘outfit’, “You look so dashing.”

“noooo i don’t. i look lazy, an’ that’s what suits me.” He nodded emphatically, then asked, “can…can i have my muzzle back? i don’t wanna…” Cocoa looked down, “i don’t wanna hurt you with my teeth….we bite on instinct an’…..it’s better if i keep it on.”

He’d curled in on himself again, and while you hated that he wanted that awful device, you nodded, “Whatever makes you comfortable, Cocoa.” You go back to the bathroom and return with the muzzle. “Just know that, even if you did bite me,” the metal clasp clinks as he puts the muzzle back on, “I’d love you the same. You’re mine and I’m yours. We have to learn to love each other just the way we are.”

Cocoa nodded, and then dove into your lap to nuzzle you. Even if he couldn’t say it out loud anymore, you knew he loved you already. And the feeling was mutual.


	3. Chapter 3

The store was being packed up.

All the other bitties were gone, and he hadn’t been fed or given water for days.

There were humans here he’d never seen, but….they were ignoring him.

“what’s happening?” he thought as he watched them.

“We’ll pick the rest up next week,” they said, and he saw them shuttering the store.

“no no no no!” he whimpered as he tried to get their attention, soft whimpers through his mask and his waving not doing the trick as he peered out of his enclosure.

But the shutters went down, and the store was pitch black. “you forgot my night light.” He whimpered to himself, curling up as the darkness got deeper and his body hurt and began to fade away…

–

He rocketed upright in bed and ended up falling out with a soft ‘whumph’ onto the floor.

He got up in panic, checking himself. No, he wasn’t dusting, he wasn’t even in the same clothes as the dream….

It was a dream. A nightmare.

As Cocoa looked around he recognized that he was at home, with his owner, and not shut in a closed store, hungry and in the dark. There was even a crack in the door with the hall light on, that his owner had done so he wouldn’t be scared.

Still, he was shakey and desperate for comfort, so he toddled over to the big bed and scrambled up next to his human. They were peaceful and smiling in their sleep, and he felt the tears coming anew as he wriggled up against their chest.

It was awful, feeling alone and ignored and empty inside. That’s how the dream had made him feel, that’s how no one wanting to be his owner had made him feel. But he had an owner, he had someone who had wanted him, and defended him and taken such good care of him.

And even now, as they sleepily hugged him closer despite him waking them up, he could feel how much they loved him. Their soul was warm and open for him, and he felt the shivers from the fear subside as he got sleepy again.

His owner loved him, and he would never be left alone like that. He would never be hungry or cold or scared without anybody to help him fix that.

Because now he was home.


End file.
